Glencore closes Mount Isa mines

The underground copper operations and copper concentrator in Australia will close in the second half of 2025 after 60 years of operating.

Glencore describes Mount Isa Mines as one of the world's largest mining complexes, and Australia's biggest industrial asset.

Other metal assets, including the copper smelter, George Fisher Mine, zinc-lead concentrator, and lead smelter in Mount Isa, as well as the copper refinery in Townsville, will continue operating.

The miner says it conducted a range of studies and reviews to extend the life of the copper mines but it has not been possible beyond its 60 years of operation.

Mineral resources were shown by the studies to not be economically viable due to low ore grades and areas where safe extraction cannot be achieved using current technology and ageing infrastructure.

Glencore's Lady Loretta zinc mine, 140km north-west of Mount Isa, was a finite orebody with a seven-year mine life and will also close in 2025.

COO of Glencore's Zinc Assets in Australia, Sam Strohmayr, says redundancies are the last resort. 'Our Mount Isa underground copper mines, copper concentrator and supporting services currently employ around 1,200 people. 

'It’s too early to put a figure on how many people may receive redundancies until we work through a process of speaking to each worker and discuss options around retention, redeployment, and retraining.

'We also expect the copper smelter and refinery to continue operating to 2030, subject to approval of additional capital investment.'